Planet Scumm
They publish fiction, including flash fiction, and they’re reading submissions for Issue 17. They want sci-fi of all kinds, and speculative fiction, weird fiction, and slipstream.
Deadline: 21 February 2023
Length: Up to 5,000 words
Pay: $0.06/word
Details here.

NewMyths
They publish fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. “We like to balance each quarterly issue between science fiction and fantasy, dark and light, serious and humorous, hard and soft science fiction, and longer and shorter works.” Their pay rates have doubled in 2023. They also accept artwork.
Deadline: 28 February 2023
Length: Up to 10,000 words for fiction
Pay: $0.03/word; “minimum payment of $50 for all submissions, fiction, flash fiction, nonfiction and poetry”
Details here.

Electric Lit
They have reading periods for non-members of Electric Lit. They will open in February for The Commuter – poetry, flash, graphic, and experimental narratives – “We encourage writers to push the boundaries of what is considered fiction”; and Recommended Reading, which is  longer fiction. They are always open for detailed essay pitches.
Reading periods: 1-12 February for Recommended Reading; 13-19 February 2023 for The Commuter; always open for essay pitches
Length: Fiction up to 1,500 words, 4-6 poems for The Commuter; fiction of 2,000-10,000 words for Recommended Reading
Pay: $100 for The Commuter, $300 for Recommended Reading
Details here and here.

(Mud Season Review will also open for fiction, nonfiction, and poetry in February; they will close end-February, or when their submission cap is reached. They pay $50. Details here.)

Southword
This is the magazine of the Munster Literature Centre, and they accept poetry and fiction.
Deadline: 28 February for poetry; 31 March for fiction
Length: Up to 5,000 words for fiction; up to 4 poems
Pay: €250 per short story, €40 per poem
Details here and here.

The Ex-Puritan
This Canadian magazine used to be called The Puritan. They publish fiction, nonfiction, experimental/hybrid work, interviews, reviews, and poetry. You can read more about their new hybrid submissions section as well as their name change here. They accept a limited number of fee-free submissions every month.
Deadline: 25 March 2023, or until filled, for Spring issue; reads year-round
Length: Up to 10,000 words for fiction, up to 4 poems; various for nonfiction (see guidelines)
Pay: CAD200 per essay; CAD150 for fiction; CAD100 per interview or review; CAD35 per poem (or page, capped at CAD120); CAD50+ per experimental or hybrid work, at an increasing scale depending on the nature of the piece
Details here and here.

Bio: S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine. She can be reached here.

They only have two imprints that are open to direct submissions:

• Zondervan Reflective books aim to be good, engaging reads that encourage deep reflection, inspire action, and call for a response. The goal for books in this imprint is to be part of the conversation, to engage readers, and to explore from historically orthodox Christian commitments the really tough questions Christians face today. Topics for such books include leadership, ministry, the intersection of faith and culture, and biblical and theological perspectives on contemporary issues. The authors of such books are expected to have demonstrable expertise on the subject being addressed.

• Zondervan Academic books seek to show the breadth and diversity—both theologically and globally—of Christianity in its broadly evangelical expression. College and seminary textbooks, Bible commentaries, reference books, and scholarly monographs in the biblical, theological, and related disciplines are included in this imprint.

All submissions to either of these imprints must be made via email. You should make it clear which imprint is the best fit in the subject line of the email.

They ask that your proposal be no more than 5 pages and include the following:

• A brief description of the proposed book

• The unique contribution of the book and why you feel it must be published

• The table of contents, including a two or three sentence description of each chapter

• Your intended reader

• Your curriculum vita including your qualifications to write the book

It’s important to note that on their submission page they share the link to their vanity imprint run by Authors Solutions. We’ve written about imprints like this here, and they should very much be steered clear of.

To learn more, or to submit, go here.

Emily Harstone is the author of many popular books, including The Authors Publish Guide to Manuscript Submissions, Submit, Publish, Repeat, and The 2022 Guide to Manuscript Publishers.

Since 2020, Pyre has been published twice a year, in April and November. Each edition contains writing from around 20 contributors. Pyre accepts submissions from all authors, but they are especially interested in showcasing underrepresented voices.

Now through February 28, Pyre is seeking submissions for their upcoming April edition. After that, they will accept submissions from August 17 through September 18 for their November edition.

Authors of fiction may submit one story, 3,500 words or fewer, or up to three flashes, 100 to 1,000 words. Authors of creative nonfiction may submit one piece, 3,500 words or fewer. Poets may submit up to three poems, two pages or fewer each. Pyre doesn’t usually accept micro poems.

Although Pyre doesn’t usually publish fiction under 300 words in their journal, they do accept micro fiction submissions that “can fit on the back of a VHS box” for a separate feature. They also accept videos, photography, and artwork.

Pyre pays all contributors an honorarium of $10.

Pyre accepts submissions via email, not online or by post. They accept simultaneous submissions, but they ask that authors withdraw work published elsewhere. They do not accept previously published work.

Pyre only accepts submissions that follow the guidelines they’ve posted online. Please read these guidelines in full before submitting.

If you would like to learn more or submit to Pyre, please visit their website here.

Bio: Ella Peary is the pen name for an author, editor, creative writing mentor, and submission consultant. Over the past five years, she’s written hundreds of articles for Authors Publish, and she’s also served as a copywriter and copy editor for a wide range of organizations and individuals. She is the author of The Quick Start Guide to Flash Fiction. She occasionally teaches a course on flash fiction. You can contact her at ellapeary@gmail.com.

Imagine squeezing time out from other daily engagements and committing some of your brightest of creative ideas into a 5,000-word story, with a deadline for submission fast approaching. The late nights, the backaches from hours of sitting, the many rough drafts. And then the joys of putting the final touches to your work. Then, upon completion, comes the excitement of clicking the send button to put your work out there. Then a few days or weeks or months after, you check your inbox only to see “dear xxx, thank you for sending your work, but unfortunately…..”.

Getting a rejection is a writer’s worst nightmare. This is true because not only is writing a personal art, it is also a very vulnerable one. Personally, I received my 150th rejection email a fortnight ago, but does that make me less than a writer? No. Therefore, from my experiences, I’m sharing some tips to help writers react appropriately to rejections.

DONT PERSONALIZE REJECTIONS

I advise every writer to grow a thick skin. This is inevitable because, at some point in your writing career, your work will be rejected. It is however important to know that it is your work that is being rejected, and not the brain behind the work. Very understandably, being sent a rejection email sucks, and it can seem like insensitivity from an editor. But that doesn’t take away the fact that their selection processes may not tread the path of our creative preferences as writers. It is important to accept the rejection. Consider embarking on what I refer to as the B.G.P. (Brief Grief Period). It is important to grieve, because you are no robot. But don’t let your grieving period be as long as a statewide seven days mourning for the queen.

RETRACE AND RE-STRATEGIZE

After getting rejected, do some introspection regarding your writing. There is always a reason for your article being rejected, and while some of those reasons are way beyond your control, there are some factors you can take a closer look at. Many writers just submit because they have an article ready for submission without paying attention to what different publications prefer. Doing this is like shooting yourself in the foot and, without doubt, submitting an article that doesn’t align will most certainly earn you a rejection. So, after getting rejected, it is important to figure out where you got it wrong from your own end. It could be the formatting style, mode of submission, or type of submission. Moreover, some publications charge a fee for personalized editorial feedback. You can decide to better your chances of getting accepted on your next submission by considering such feedback.

ALWAYS HAVE A SIDE PROJECT

It is counter-productive to wait all your life for feedback from one particular publication or editor before you can continue writing. In essence, you should always have a side project that you are working on while you await a feedback for an already submitted piece. That way, if the feedback comes in as a rejection, you can always quickly grieve a bit, learn a few lessons from it and then shift your attention to the next big thing in your life. Therefore, having a side project will help you heal faster from a rejection and give you another opportunity to redeem yourself.

REMIND YOURSELF OF WHY YOU ARE A WRITER

Whether it is the first rejection or the thousandth, rejections can make you doubt your writing abilities. It can make you want to reconsider your craft. It is normal and permissible to feel that way. However, you have to look at yourself in the mirror and ask yourself the honest question of what drove you into writing. After this period of soul-searching, it is important that you emerge as your own cheerleader.

DONT ALLOW REJECTIONS TO ECHO

In life, you hear once bitten, twice shy; but in a writer’s life, it is once bitten, twice as bold. When you have gathered yourself to work on another article, it is best not to allow the bad vibes you had from your previous rejections to grip you. Write like you’ve never been rejected before, because your acceptance email may be closer than you can imagine.